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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1976)
II inside I Pit Stop: A visit to the International Car Association's 10th Annual International Championship Autorama , . p.7 Paper plates: What is coming to the Nebraska Union?. . . , : . ...... . . . . . . , p.2 The stars are the limit: Noontime talks at Mueller Planetarium p.9 1 1 mm J monday, february 23, 1976 vol. 09 no. 85 lincoln, nebraska i i .1 r-YsT-.. in i ti yJlrvLG,LDdIoora,D, oho mm)? By Barbara Lutz A Harper Hall resident is seeking $25 in damages be cause his tropical fish and plants died as the result of what he called excessive heat in his residence hall room during Thanksgiving vacation last semester. Ken Donner, a sophomore engineering' major from Wisner, said when he returned to school Nov. 30, the temperature in his room was 114 degrees. Other students' property also sustained damage, he said, Records were warped, candles were melted and food was spoiled, he added. Richard Armstrong, director of housing, said, '7 can not tell you the cause, but it appears there was an exces sive amount of heat over the Thanksgiving holiday." He said he does not know why but there is "no question that it did happen." Physical Plant 'Director Harley Schrader said, "We don't know what happened." Normally, during vacations, residence hall temperatures are "reduced to conserve energy," he said. Donner said students are told, to unplug everything dur ing vacation except aauariums and refrigerators and turn off lights and fans in their heat vents. "They are supposed to regulate the heat at the power plant," he said. A lot of red tape ... Donner said he talked to his floor's student assistant, the Harper Hall resident director and the Harper-Schramm-Smith complex director about the heat damages, with no results. He said he then was referred to the UNL Physical . Plant,' maintenance officer housing office andstudcritT legal service lawyer David Rasmussen. He "ran into a lot of red tape," Donner said. Rasmussen said he told Donner to make an itemized list of his losses and send themto Ray Loudon, director of personnel and the university's liaison with AEtna In surance Co., which insures UNL buildings. - Approximately $150 damage occurred in the fifth r: ; j floor of Harper Hall, which "times nine floors is $1,350 in losses," Donner said. -. A claim representative for AEtna, P.E. Pettinger, visited Harper Hall last semester to "investigate" the claims, Donner said.' Donner said it bothers him that there are "two differ ent stories" in the insurance investigation of the incident. -"Two stories" Jie said one "story" was the Feb. 13 notice from Pettinger to fifth floor residents denying their claims. He said the statement read "(We) failed to establish that your losses were produced by factors that would give rise to liability on the part of the University of Nebraska.. . . (We) "advise you that we have no alternative but to respectfully deny your claims." , t But Donner said Pettinger told Rasmussen that the in surance t policy does not cover plants and aquariums. Armstrong said Donner told him that Harper residents had received notice from the insurance company, but the housing office has not received any written conclusion yet from AEtna. ... Armstrong said Loudon would notify him on the settlement of the claims, and nothing could be done until then. Loudon was unavailable for comment. ' ' Question of liability Rasmussen said Donner's legal position is that "the University is liable due to negligence of the university employes which caused him (Donner) financial loss and he seeks reimbursement." - x UNL's legal position is that "they are not liable and they are not responsible for (Donner's) losses," he said. . v Rasmussen said he cannot represent students in court, but can refer them to other agencies and advise them of their rights. s, "Once Donner has been turned down by the insurers, the next step is to file a claim with the State Claims Board," Rasmussen said. The claims board processes the claim and either sends it to the municipal small claims court or denies it. If Donner's claims are denied, Rasmussen said, he can file suit in Lancaster County Court. . - rY1" I ' Vf ' ' t."- . A P K - o ' ' - 1 Nl ' I mm 1 .. i i 1 at, few B i A hts wiatcr siitm tffonkd six UNL tin , " dcats the ep?cftanfty to show off their cKZ'dvs bleats. The rcidlt f their effort it Bruce t!ie Snowpcnon, who fa rcsMlsj it ' l& md E itreets, tt k&st uaQ warmef' wtsther errives. Brace's "psrfists" ere from left ta fit;Cft2 Kosiser, iop&snore culteare ctciomics mcr titxn fiJssy, Apt! Dissjtltl, a lislo cleaetaiy tdaca . tifi-a ejg &osa llit&e$$$ J. Si Rokft-'" - tm, Cetirke jjr!cr nijailij is ec2s 2 Til lUi:";r, 8 TrscLtrV CC'c , uaScr frcai Or? Feb Mcmw, Ihcila -rdm n-j?r2 h hirsn ni Asa . ... UNO center pending conditions By Dick Piersol The proposed University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) . downtown educational center came a step closer to realiy last week when Gov. J. James Exon told its supporters that he would not oppose it if certain conditions are met. The governor did not say he would support or endorse a new construction plan of a combined state office build ing and UNO educational center, which also will have space reserved for Metro Technical Community College, according to Norman Otto, Exon's administrative assist ant. Plans for such a building, which would encompass two blocks in downtown Omaha, will depend on a com promise on the state's share of money to build it. Conditions t?. J J. . 1 Stan Matzke, director of the State Department of Admini strative Services One condition is that the state's share of the building should not exceed $9 million. The Nebraska Legislature in 1974 appropriated $8 million for an Omaha state office building. Sen. Glenn Goodrich of Omaha introduced LB838 this session, wLIeh would appropriate! $5 million more for the downtown center. To comply with Exon's conditions, that bill would have to be reworked to reduce the state's share to $1 million plus the $S million previously provided. Omaha World-Herald publisher Peter Kicwit has pledged to contribute $2.5 million to the project, to be mat died by other Omaha businesses. The $9 million wovil be used to make lease payments to the city of Omaha. For actual construction, Omaha would have to issud revenue bonds, which would be retired over a decs-ia .. by the state's fca.se payments, Matzke said. The buIIJing would be in the state's came, not UNO's as originally pi arm!, he BaU. t If the iigkbtura screes to those conations, Exoa said ha would isot oppose the bin. . 123JC3q.ft.forUNO - Space tllotmcrtts wowU U 12000 sq. ft., for UNO, 65, GG0 square feet for state cfric y.ss .-J tloixt 5JEXX) for listtQ Tech, Matzke said, lias state cow maiatalcs abovl sq. ft. cf cfHcea tt vrbta O.Tiia location. The fate of ihe proposed VtiQ Iksllh, I'ltsl Owes- tion and Recreation Bidg. (HPER), for which construction costs are provided in LB83S, is less certain because Exon vetoed its construction last session. It has been given second priority for construction by NU administrators and the downtown Omaha campus center is sixth in priority. The downtown educational center and HPER are of equal importance to Omaha senators, Omaha Sen. John Cavana ugh said. The University has made a special plea to members of the Appropriations Committee to retain provisions for its construction in LB838, said NU President D.B. Varner. LB838 provides $2 million of $6.7 million total construc tion costs for HPER. UNO, government may be changed By Kim Shepherd The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Student Senate may be rbolished and replaced by a board of directors, said Mike O'Connor, UNO student senator. In a plan to be submitted this week by Clint Bellows, UNO Student government president and student regent, the Senate would give way to a "county board" type of government to be headed by the UNO student regent, he said. Since there no longer would be a need for a presi dent, UNO students would be voting for a board chair man, he said. Bellows said' he philosophical beSeves'the student government has an administrative, not a legislative, duty. The board concept wouU fill this need , lie aJdid. . Eelbws will present the pLn to the Senate Wede. day, Ha said several studsai senators have been hdptoj; him develop the idea of the board fovemmcat. The UNO Student Senate currently has 32 tea!, two of which are vacant, 0Conner said. The plan woutl re- duce the number cf student representatives to between 10 tai 15, ha sail. S?u!at government elections at UNO wEl be l!afi 24 throfh25. '('.''. ' . ' '.' -